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Literary notes about Epigraph (AI summary)

In literature, an epigraph is a brief inscription or quotation strategically placed to open a work, offering insight into its themes or setting its tone. It can serve multiple functions, from dedicatory remarks, as in the inscription honoring Francesco Calceolari [1], to a thematic beacon that encapsulates the work's spirit, like the classical Latin motto presented in [2] or the evocative line drawn from Horace in [3]. In some instances, the epigraph establishes a cultural or historical reference that enriches the reader's engagement with the text, much as the inscription on coins emphasizes symbolic meaning [4], while in others it even provides a subtle commentary on the narrative’s unfolding ideas [5]. This concise, often poignant element thus invites readers to reflect on the deeper layers of meaning before the main narrative begins.
  1. A fact that is of botanic interest is to be met with here in the epigraph below the organ to Francesco Calceolari.
    — from The Story of Verona by Alethea Wiel
  2. Annus haud Mirabilis , with this Epigraph—'Impar Congressus Achilli.'
    — from The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 5 Poetry by Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron
  3. Title page The epigraph is from Horace's Odes II. viii.
    — from Pamela Censured by Anonymous
  4. Its coins represent Hercules contending with the lion, and bear the epigraph ΗΡΑ or ΗΡΑΚΛΗΙΩΝ.
    — from The Geography of Strabo, Volume 1 (of 3) Literally Translated, with Notes by Strabo
  5. "They are," I said to him, "the very epigraph of your whole life."
    — from Auguste Rodin: The Man - His Ideas - His Works by Camille Mauclair

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